Book Review: The snowball

Sunday, June 15th, 2008 1:21 am

[The SNOWBALL by Alice Schroeder]

This is probably the first book my library snatched from me without me finishing it. I was about 40% done with it and i will try to request it again when i have time. The book in itself is poetic. Alice did a wonderful job with the biography of Warren Buffett and i think she has succeded in bringing the personal life of Warren that is not visible in his day-to-day wits. You will get to see a personal side of Omaha’s Sage who took his passion to an elevated level and threw away everything else in life. I find it strange that the narrative made me hate him several times on how he was ignoring his kids and wouldn’t step up but then Alice didn’t sound convincing enough when she says he was there when Susie needed him.

All kidding aside, the story delves deeply into his life with minute details of how he grew his business to an empire with his brilliance. The book takes you back to his old days and into a setting that would have made you believe you were sitting with him and were watching him make the decisions that made him the greatest investor.

I just wish i had finished this one on time…..

Edited 15th June

My wishes came true when i requested the book from the library again and it was indeed available. Like i mentioned earlier, Alice did a great job of compiling all that information about Warren and it took her several years in putting together what i call my grueling two weeks of almost every night for few hours of reading. The book is 838 pages of articulate writing by Alice who took the details to its almost picturesque level where she described, on several occasions, the settings in which the actual conversation would have taken place, the berkshire meetings, buffet group meetings, Warren’s office settings, Buffett’s family shop, and his endeavors, very skillfully dripped down on paper.

While i have my own reasons to get distracted, i did feel there were some sections that could have been easily ignored by me, if wanted to just skip them and not bother with or let’s say if Akule woke up. Especially the first few chapters where she lays out the foundation of Warren’s lineage was just too delving and cumbersome for me. She portrayed this complex man that Warren was, in just the same manner to give you an idea of what you’d expect from someone you don’t live with but idolize all day. After reading the entire book, i was still lingering in my head if i should trust Alice records on how Warren didn’t live upto his kids or his wife or his entire devotion to anything but the family and still being considered a naive hardworker, devoted man. Alice failed to really bring out the clarity in Warren’s complex relation with Susie. At times, she contradicted herself in depicting Warren’s behavior or his reactions to something she had already committed to. I remember having this image in my head of Warren being too busy with his work that he didnt really have time with Susie. But then later, Alice writes how Warren was dying to be with Susie on occasions in between his schedule and would do anything to be with her. The question to me was : ‘Why would he turn his plane around as soon as he heard Susie was going to be alright’?

Her sympathy for Warren’s situation when Susie passes away is, although by nature alone is sad and agonizing but she ruins the sentiments by bringing in his reminisce of his Dad’s passing which happened ages earlier….!!!

Overall a book that has plenty of facts laid for a Buffett follower…. like myself.